“…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 26:28 NIV
Jayne has an uncle who is a retired seminary professor and a respected author of books on theology and Christian history. He just released a book on St. Francis of Assisi that I finished reading while stuck inside during Hurricane Debby. The title is “Francis of Assisi, Movement Maker: The Unconventional Leadership of a Simple Saint,” by Dr. Howard Snyder. It’s a fascinating history of St. Francis and the movement of renewal in the Catholic church in the 13th century that became the Brotherhood of the Franciscans (There was also a women’s renewal movement associated with it called the Order of the Poor Claires).
Francis grew up in a wealthy family but was called by God to renew the church spiritually. He took a vow of poverty. He gave up all his worldly possessions. He did not have a home. Instead, he wandered from town to town, serving others by manual labor, and preaching where he could. Some people would let him sleep on their porch or in their fields. Some would give him food to eat. And when he ran out of food, he went to the streets to beg. Not just for him, but to give to others. Remember, he owned nothing.
His life was an inspiration to others, who quickly joined him in his lifestyle for Christ. After just a few years, he had thousands that joined his Franciscan lifestyle or orders. They were known as the Order of Lesser Brothers. Because Francis’ challenge was to be a Lesser Brother (or sister). Howard states in his book, “Follow Jesus and commit to be lesser. Don’t try to be ‘humble’; that’s too vague, abstract, pious. Just pledge to be lesser in every way. That kind of behavior is social, cultural, often visible, and starkly countercultural. It is acting like Jesus…”
“The genius of Francis of Assisi was that he made people aspire, hunger and thirst, to be lesser.” What would it take for you to be “lesser?”
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